Ying's Korean Barbecue Marinade; Freekeh original, catfish and fennel
Anthony Barone: I liked all the ingredients in the basket (after I made the Freekeh and found out what it tasted like). The challenge was the seven ingredient limitation. I thought about po-boy sandwiches or fish tacos but between the ingredients for the slaw, the breading on the fish and the bread for the sandwich or the tortilla, I was over seven ingredients. With the ingredient limit, a simple technique for the catfish seemed called for so I decided to blacken it. I like dirty rice with it, the Freekeh (roasted green wheat) looked like rice, so I thought they would go together well. The fennel tasted great in the Freekeh but I wanted contrasting colors and something to cool the taste buds in light of the Cajun spices, so I did a fennel grape salad.
Chuck Federici: These were great ingredients. The Freekeh was a bit scary because I had never cooked with it, but given the flavor profile of the Ying's Korean Barbecue Marinade I knew that a fried-rice/tempura application would work best. I prepared these dishes for my daughter and son-in-law and they really enjoyed them; so much so that the remainder of the Fennel Freekeh went home with them.